Harry Potter and the Year of the Unknown
by brainyangelkd
Summary: Chapter Two: Harry finally gets to meet Hermione's parents, creepy neighbor and overprotective brother that wants to wring Harry's neck. Maybe going there wasn't such a great idea.
1. Sweet Heaven

Chapter One

The sun was overpowering and most of the residents of Maple Drive were in a lazy stupor, slouched in front of the TV. The birds that usually filled the area with song and inhabited the maple trees of that street were also subdued because of the heat, seeking refuge in one of the many birdbaths that were available on Maple Drive. It was an ordinary summer's day. That's what it appeared to be anyway. Shattering the quiet, a black corvette traveled down the street, emitting puffs of carbon dioxide along its way. The passenger of the black corvette knew very well that it wasn't an ordinary day, for her anyway.

Leaning her forehead against the window the girl appreciated the air conditioning that the owner of the corvette had gotten especially for the summer's heat. The girl suppressed a sigh as she gazed at the passing houses, but that couldn't help take her mind off the extraordinary day she was sure she would be having. To be fair, the girl was far from ordinary. Hermione Granger had recently gotten back from her 5th year at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For Hermione Granger was a witch, the brightest witch in her year in fact, but she wasn't feeling so bright at the moment. 

Hogwarts always was an adventure in itself, but each year Hermione was involved in a struggle to keep Voldemort, a dark wizard that grown wizards feared to even speak his name, from returning to power. You had to be in the thick of the struggle if you were best friends with Harry Potter and Hermione was. Fifteen years ago, Voldemort killed both of Harry's parents with the killing curse. Voldemort tried to kill Harry too, but for some reason, he couldn't. The spell back-lashed and caused Voldemort to be in a state close to death. Ever since Harry's first year at Hogwarts he and his two friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, foiled Voldemorts plans to regain his former power. That is, until the fourth year, when Voldemort finally regained his power during the Triwizard cup, which Harry was an unwilling contestant of. Hermione's fifth year at Hogwarts was the most dangerous of her past experiences. She, Ron, Harry, and some of her class-mates barely escaped the Department of Mysteries with their lives. Harry had gone there in an effort to save his godfather from Voldemort and Hermione had followed. They soon found out that the whole thing had been a trap to get Harry to handover a prophesy, that was about his and Voldemorts fate. They had escaped with no lasting damage besides the fact that Harry's godfather had died defending them and that the prophesy had been smashed, forever lost. The only good thing that had come out of the year was that they had finally proven to the wizarding community that Voldemort had regained his power.

When Hermione had first returned to her home, she was restless. The homework, that had before interested her and kept her busy, didn't keep the thoughts that now invaded her mind, at bay. Guilt had shrouded her like a veil and she rarely smiled. To her parents concern, she was now reading more than ever. Her eyes grew red and puffy from not much sleep because of her reading deep into the night, desperately devouring the information she read. Hermione's guilt came from the feeling that she could have prevented the events of the previous year from happening. If only she had made sure that Professor Snape was teaching Harry Occulemecy properly or if only she could have proven to Harry that the recurring dreams he had been having were all a trap to get him to go to the Department of Mysteries. She wasn't going to let anything get past by her again. She _was_ going to help Harry the next time because undoubtedly there was going to be a next time. Voldemort wanted Harry dead and Hermione was going to do her best to prevent that.

Hermione wasn't afraid to acknowledge her weaknesses and she knew that she was particularly hopeless when it came to pure instinct. At the Department of Mysteries she had watched as Harry had dealt with the death eaters, while she just stood their like a log. That wasn't going to happen again. Hermione was under aged and she was not allowed to use magic outside of school. Fortunately, what Hermione had in mind didn't involve the use of magic. She had theorized that she needed to be a great deal more athletic if she expected to survive another encounter with a band of death eaters. There was also the hope that being more athletic would boost her confidence. Maybe then she wouldn't freeze up when she faced the enemy. After spending a week shut up in her room, Hermione emerged and started running every morning, as well as kickboxing. Besides getting in shape, there was the wonderful distraction from her thoughts of not only Voldemort, but of the O.W.L. results, which she was sure she had done dreadfully on. 

Two weeks after she started her training she received two welcome surprises, her O.W.L.s and letters from her two friends. Hermione was kickboxing in her room to an energetic pop song that was playing full blast on her radio when a white owl flew through the open window and landed neatly on her bed. Hermione stopped mid-kick and rushed to the bird. The owl was obviously Harry's snow owl, Hedwig and Hermione had been apprehensively awaiting his letter. Letters were the only form of contact she was going to be having with her two best friends this summer, at least until they were contacted by the Order anyway. Dumbledore, Head of Hogwarts, had told them that visiting each other would endanger their lives, as Voldemort wanted them dead as badly as ever. The Order was a society of wizards that were fighting off the death eaters since the Ministry of Magic couldn't exactly be depended on. Hopefully, Mad-Eye-Moody or Tonks would contact her before the summer was up. The Order was located in the safest place she knew besides Hogwarts, 13 Grimmauld Place, the Black Manor. There Hermione, Ron, Harry and the rest of the Weasleys could safely meet. Until then, though, it was only letters. Stroking Hedwig's soft, white feathers, Hedwig affectionately nibbled her ear, as Hermione eagerly opened Harry's letter. It was written with green ink and Harry's untidy scrawl filled up half the piece of parchment.

**'Lo Hermione,**

Life is pretty normal here on Privet Drive. Dudley got a new punching bag for his birthday. I expect Uncle Vernon wants Dudley to become a pro boxer. I really don't mind, as long as I'm not the punching bag. Anyway, whenever the Dursleys are gone I get to have a few whacks at it. It's better to beat the stuffing out of a bag instead of taking it out on you or Ron. Uncle Dursley is making me work at the drill factory, here in Little Whinging. Dudley's Uncle Vernon's assistant, no surprise there. Well, I start work in a week and I'm fine, really. Work will take my mind off you-know-what. I actually started my Potions essay yesterday. Knowing you, you've probably done all of your summer homework already. I received my O.W.Ls this morning. I'm sure you've got all 12. Professor McGonagal must have pulled some strings because I somehow got an Outstanding in Potions. Snape is going to be wretched this year. I have all of the O.W.Ls I need to take the classes I need to become an Auror, anyway. Hope your well. I'm sorry. Sorry about everything, but I'm fine. I know you'll worry, but I'm fine. See you at Hpgwarts if not sooner. By the way, Snuffles left me his dog house and some of his toys.

-Harry

Hermione stared at the letter, hoping it would reveal some hidden information. She had half of a mind to get her revealer out and start rubbing it on the parchment, but she knew it would've been pointless. Harry couldn't say much in his letter because there was always the fear that it would be intercepted. What information that was in the letter worried Hermione. Sirius's death must be killing Harry, but he only mentioned him once in his letter. Harry had repeated in his letter that he was fine, but Hermione knew that whenever Harry said he was fine he was the exact opposite. It was irritating when Harry bottled up his anger and sorrow. She was grateful that he was letting some of it out with the punching bag's help, but he had to talk to someone sometime. Harry felt guilty about last year. If there wasn't the possibility of calls or letters being intercepted she would've called Harry and yell at him. Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about Harry working for his uncle. If Harry's uncle was as bad as he seemed in front of Platform 9 ¾ then it was going to be as bad as slave labor. She had to hope that Harry would have enough sense to write to Mad-Eye-Moody if things got too bad. Sirius had left Black Manor to Harry. That was something to mull over. Hermione trusted Sirius, but he had been a troublemaker when he was younger. Whatever Sirius left Harry was bound to be dangerous. Lupin hopefully censored some things until Harry got older. At least Harry had done well on his O.W.Ls. She winced; Professor Snape was going to be awful this year. 

Interrupting her thoughts about Harry's letter, a large brown owl fluttered through the window and landed next to Hedwig on the blue bedspread. Her heart skipped a beat. The bird was undoubtedly clutching her O.W.L results. The O.W.Ls decided your future in the wizarding world. To be an Auror you had to get at least ten O.W.Ls. No way was Hermione going to let Harry and Ron fight death eaters alone. Someone had to be there to keep them out of trouble. If Ron decided to become an Auror he would only encourage Harry. The trio was going to stick together. Taking a deep breath, she shakily untied the envelope from the brown owl's leg. The letter was definitely her O.W.L results; it proudly had a Hogwarts seal. Ripping it open, Hermione quickly scanned the letter. She had 12 O.W.Ls. Shocked she plopped down on bed. Ron or Harry would have been laughing their heads off at her surprised expression. They had no doubts that she was going to get 12 O.W.Ls. Hermione couldn't help being surprised. With everything that had happened last year she was sure she had down awfully on all of them. The good score caused her to smile for the first time in weeks, but it quickly disappeared.

A small brown ball of fluff zoomed through the window, causing Crookshanks to hiss from underneath Hermione's bed, where he had been dozing. Ron's owl, Pig, dived onto Hermione's bed. Hedwig shrieked loudly, apparently scolding Pig, who was now bouncing on Hermione's pillow. Goose feathers flew around the room and Hermione snatched the letter that was tied around Pig's ankle. Ron Weasley was Hermione Granger's other best friend, funny, and having a temper that was a tribute to his red hair, he was a member of a large family. Tearing the envelope open Hermione grinned as she caught sight of Ron's barely legible handwriting.

Hi Hermione,

Tell Crookshanks to teach Pig a lesson. He's been acting up lately. Mum says that Pig is behaving so strangely because he's bored. I think it's because Ginny is always spoiling him, the little git. Fred and George are up to their usual tricks. Their shop is doing surprisingly well, but that doesn't stop Mum from telling them that they could have had a 'real' job if they had only stuck around in school. She's really proud of them, though. I wrote to Harry and he seems to be doing okay. When he gets good enough at punching maybe he can take on Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Maybe he can teach me and we can give them a collection of black eyes. I did pretty good on my O.W.Ls, got nine of them. I barely scraped by with enough O.W.Ls to become an Auror. Mum and Dad couldn't be more pleased. I'll never hear the end of it from Fred and George. They keep muttering that I'm a disgrace to the Weasley name. It'll be really quiet this year without them at Hogwarts. Don't study too hard Hermione, I know I'm not. See you soon (hopefully). Take your time sending back Pig. He was really driving me up the wall.

-Ron 

Hermione had to sigh exasperatedly at Ron's letter. All of Ron's letters were amusing, but he was so thick. His letter didn't sound like that he suspected Harry of being depressed. Of course Ron just didn't see certain things. Pig had calmed down enough to lie still on her pillow, panting heavily. As soon as he was rested he was going straight back. One of her traits was tolerance, but even she wasn't that tolerant. She replied to her friends. She wrote encouraging words to Harry and wished him a happy birthday. It was not safe enough to ask questions about his inheritance, but that was near the top of her list for when she finally saw him. To Ron, she reprehended him for thinking that violence would solve his problems and warned him not to influence Harry that it did. After she finished writing with a flourish she tied her replies to Hedwig and Pig's ankles and sent them off. The large brown owl had left right after it had nodded approvingly to Hedwig, who had been sitting rather primly. 

Bounding down the stairs and into the marble tiled kitchen, Hermione got herself a glass of water. While she was rummaging in the cupboard, Hermione heard her parents talking happily in the living room. Quickly, Hermione filed her glass with water from the sink and briskly walked into the cozy living room. Her mother and father were reclining on two over-stuffed chairs. Hermione couldn't think of two more unlikely people to be dentists. Her mother wrote short stories in her spare time, and her hands were often covered in ink because of it. She had often caught her with a box of chocolates, watching a Lifetime Movie. When Hermione questioned her on her moral standards as a dentist her mom just brushed it off between bites of a piece of caramel.

"All dentist check-ups for us are free dear. We like to take advantage of it." Her mother would console her before turning her attention back to the movie.

****

Hermione's dad was hardly any better. Not only did he eat junk food, but he insisted on sending people the same type of sugar-free snacks that had sat uneaten in the cupboard for a month before Hermione became fond of them. He also had a motorcycle fetish, which slightly unnerved her. His wife would not let him buy one, but that didn't stop him from talking about classic motorcycles non-stop or from engaging conversation with bikers about the brand they were riding. Once, Hermione had to drag her father away from a heavy-set, tattoo covered, scruffy looking biker who he had been having a lively discussion about the feel of the bike. Sometimes Hermione wondered if she was adopted, but she knew that she was just as crazy as either of her parents on the inside.

When Hermione walked into the living room her father gave her a wide smile. Tall, with a full head of thick brown hair, her father didn't even look like a dentist. Her mother acknowledged her with a quick motherly gaze, assessing any damage and what she felt about it. 

"Hermione, I'm glad you're here darling, we've got good news." Her mother said. Hermione waited a little worriedly. Going to France would not be good right now. She needed to be their just in case. 

"You're cousin Melanie is visiting tomorrow and she wants to take you out to eat. What do you think of that?" Her father explained. Hermione stood there, feeling a little confused. She had told them that she couldn't go anywhere casually. Doing so would only be tempting fate. Seeing the perplexed expression on her daughters face, Mrs. Granger continued.

"We have Professor Dumbledore's assurance that no harm will come to you or Melanie. So what do you think, honey?" Hermione smiled for the first time in front of her parents.

"That would be wonderful."

An unexpected bump caused Hermione to bang her head against the window with a loud crack. Her dream ended abruptly. Rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand Hermione didn't realize where she was until she saw her cousin beside her in the driver seat looking back with an amused expression.

"Did you hit your head hard?" Melanie inquired keeping one eye on the road and one on Hermione. Melanie had dark blond hair and dark blue eyes. She was 22 and had just graduated from a muggle college. Melanie was now starting out as a marine biologist. Her specialty being dolphins. Hermione was grateful that Melanie wasn't the type to ask questions because she wouldn't know what to say if the conversation turned toward future careers. Hermione's cousin knew nothing of the wizarding world and it was safer and simpler to keep it that way. 

"No, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something I read in a book." Hermione assured Melanie. Her own answer sounded eerily like what Harry repeated in his letter; _I'm fine, just fine._ She involuntarily shivered. 

"Looks like you were thinking about a boy, to me." Hermione shook her head absentmindedly. She _was_ thinking about a boy, but definitely not in that way. 

"So what were you really thinking about?" Melanie had an uncanny knack for telling if someone wasn't being completely honest with her. If Hermione didn't know better she would think she was using Legilimancy. Melanie couldn't be blamed for being curious. Ever since Hermione's first year at Hogwarts she hadn't seen much of her extended family. They had the right to be wondering what was going on in her life.

"I'm just worried about one of my friends. He had a pretty rough year." Melanie almost swerved off the road causing a nearby driver to angrily honk his horn. She ignored him.

"You're friends with a _boy_?" Hermione was so worn out by the strain of the summer and the previous year that she didn't have the strength to feel insulted.

"Two actually. They're my best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter." Gaping, but keeping both eyes on the road Melanie seemed speechless. Hermione, bored, looked out the window. She had had enough of this. There was always rumors, most of which were spread by Rita Skeeter, a Daily Prophet gossip columnist as Hermione scornfully called it, that she and Harry were more than just friends. That was completely untrue, she, Harry, and Ron were a trio, three _friends_. From time to time she wondered why there were no rumors about her and Ron. She spent equal amount of time with both of them, but then she came up with the answer. Harry was famous, in the wizarding world anyway, and rumors were mainly spread to irk him.

"Do your parents know your friends with two boys?" Melanie had apparently gotten back her power of speech. 

"Yes. They've met them a couple times, but they really want to get to know them. We've been friends since I started boarding school after all." Mulling this over Melanie was silent for another short stretch of time.

"So, do you have a crush on one of them?" Groaning in her mind, Hermione thought of the most common uses for Dragons Blood so she wouldn't lose her temper.

"No. So where are we going?" Shooting a quick glance at Hermione, Melanie turned on the radio to a Blues song before answering. It was pretty obvious that she wanted to change the subject, but Hermione wasn't in the mood to explain to Melanie that she and her friends were only just that, friends.

"We're going to this cool retro diner in Little Whinging; it's always full with cute guys that work at that Drill factory near there. There's also the added bonus of catching the 'head honcho' there too. One of his Drill factories is near the ocean and is polluting the water. Dolphins and small fish won't even go near there. Does the plan sound good?" There was a pregnant pause before Hermione muttered 'yes.' Meanwhile, lightning quick flashes of thought were being absorbed by her brain. Hermione's mind screamed; _Little Whinging, Drill Factory, Harry, job, Little Whinging, Harry, Drill Factory, Harry, job…_ She wondered if she should ask Melanie to go somewhere else. She wasn't supposed to visit Harry, Dumbledore had repeated thousands of times that it was too dangerous. Why then, did he agree that she could go? Calming herself she considered the likelihood of seeing Harry at the diner. It was slim, but Melanie had mentioned that the manager of the Drill Factory was going to be there. Didn't Harry's Uncle do something with drills? Even if Harry's uncle turned up there, Hermione knew he wouldn't recognize her. If Harry turned up there, then oh well. Concern for Harry overrode any further doubts and Hermione waited tensely in the car. It would be just her luck; or rather Harry's luck if something magical happened in a diner full of muggles.

When they finally entered the diner, Sweet Heaven, Hermione felt the strain lessen slightly. The diner was pretty crowded, but cozy with it's small round tables and tall seats. The furniture reminded her of a café she had been to in France. There was a faded jukebox that sat in the corner of the diner. A small bar was in the back and Hermione could see a group of workers arguing with the bartender.

"I don't have to drive far! Just give me one more drink!" But the bartender shook his head sternly.

"You know the rules. Mr. Dursley doesn't want drunks working at Grunnings. He'll have my head if you go back smelling like ale." With an undignified 'humph' the disgruntled workers settled for cider. Hermione scanned the workers for a certain familiar face. No sign of Harry. Melanie noticed Hermione's survey of the room.

"Looking for someone, Hermione." She teased. Hermione didn't answer and headed for one of the few empty tables in the room. Excusing herself, Melanie went in search for the 'head honcho' leaving Hermione to pick her order from the smudged, plastic menu. A distant rumble seemed to come close to the diner and sure enough, the engine was cut off. The door opened and Hermione looked up to see another crowd of young workers come in, one of them with a helmet on. None of them was Harry. Hermione went back to her menu. _Chocolate Dream_ looked good, Hermione definitely deserved some chocolate. At least by her standards anyway. 

"Excuse me." Hermione glanced up; expecting a waiter ready to take her order, but it wasn't a waiter. In a second, Hermione took in the recognizable features, the messy black hair, round eyeglasses and the unmistakable emerald green eyes. Harry Potter was in Sweet Heaven. 

Before Harry could move Hermione had leapt out of her chair, almost knocking it over, and gave Harry one of her trademark hugs. To Hermione's surprise, Harry returned it. Once they broke the hug Hermione gestured to Harry to take a chair. 

"What are you doing here Hermione?" Harry bluntly asked. He was baffled about seeing her when Dumbledore had warned them so many times that Harry could repeat what he said word for word. 

"It's by accident really. My cousin brought me along to witness her work in action. She's come here to yell at that uncle of yours. Are they treating you right?" Harry gazed interestedly around the room.

"Where is she? I'll point her to him." Seeing Hermione's face gaining a severe Professor McGonagal look about her Harry answered her question.

"Okay actually." Harry leaned in closer as if to make sure no one was listening in.

"On my first day here, Uncle Vernon yelled at me in front of the workers. Blew a gasket. I was talking to one of the workers about magic and Uncle Vernon overheard. Then Uncle Vernon had a fit. His face turned red and he yelled at the top of his lungs. Fortunately, for me one of the workers had a wife who was a social worker. And he warned him that if he tried a stunt like that again he'd personally sue him. I've been trying to make Uncle Vernon blow up ever since." Hermione tried to appear stern and disapproving, but it was so hard with Harry sitting in front of her all mischievous looking. This didn't distract her from the pain she saw lurking beneath those green eyes. Harry had to talk to someone, anyone, it didn't have to be her as long as he _talked_. 

"Oh, Harry. I've missed you." Suddenly, the black helmet that Harry had casually put on the table was absorbed by her brain. 

"Harry James Potter! You didn't ride a motorcycle did you? You could've been killed!" She would've ranted on if it wasn't for the grin that had spread itself on Harry's face.

"I've missed you too Hermione." 

Melanie chose that moment to appear. As soon as she saw Harry she did a double take. Hermione thought she was going to keel over in shock, but Melanie just looked at Hermione questioningly. 

"I'm Harry Potter, a friend of Hermione's from boarding school." Harry stood up and shook Melanie's hand. The experience was new and strange for Hermione. For the first time, someone didn't immediately direct their gaze to Harry's infamous scar. Even though Melanie was a definite muggle she couldn't help being slightly surprised. 

"Melanie, a pleasure I'm sure." Harry grinned at that. Hermione knew why, when she had first met Harry and Ron she had said the same thing, but not as sincerely as Melanie seemed to be. That was for certain. Before Harry could point Melanie in the direction of his uncle, Melanie asked a few questions.

"So… Where did you meet Hermione?" Hermione was very glad that she didn't go into details about her two friends and her school. If Harry's story conflicted with Hermione's, Melanie would know for sure that she hadn't been entirely truthful. The complicated questions that would follow wouldn't be very enjoyable.

"On the train to…" Hermione shook her head behind Melanie's back. 

"…our boarding school. When we met, I knew that Hermione was a troublemaker. I can't tell you how many times Hermione, Ron and I had a close shave with the faculty." Smiling innocently, Harry watched as Hermione choked on the soda she was drinking. Coughing furiously, Hermione managed to glare at Harry quickly before explaining to Melanie the semi-truth.

"He's just joking. We've gotten into a couple of scrapes. Not entirely _my _doing. Trouble just seems to follow _us_ everywhere." Her excuse didn't seem to make it easier for Melanie. Before she could, make a comment a loud noise erupted from where the bar was situated. Harry scowled and had his eyes on the cause of the noise. A large blond-haired boy was having a fit at the poor harassed looking bartender. His plump fists banged on the counter and his voice filled the now quiet diner.

****

"My father owns Grunnings! Where you get all of your customers by the way! I demand that you get me a beer! Now! Well move it! GET ME MY," The astonishingly fat boy never got to finish his sentence, for Harry had walked up behind him and had whispered something into his ear. Who Hermione thought must be Dudley, had paled slightly. Hermione had a sneaky suspicion that Harry had threatened to do magic. More than anything else, Dudley didn't want anyone to find out that he was related to a 'freak,' as he called Harry and his kind. Harry muttered a brief apology to Hermione before he escorted Dudley out the door. The jingle of the bell as the door, shut transformed the bar to the way it was before Dudley's entrance. Never had Hermione seen such a horrible person. More respect for Harry formulated. If she had to live with Dudley for the summer she would want to spend summer vacation at Hogwarts too.

"Hermione, have you been in trouble at your school? Did he have a motorcycle helmet? Do you really mean to tell me that you associate yourself with that kind of boy?" Melanie spluttered sitting hard on her seat. 

"Melanie, Harry's has a great heart and he's a fantastic friend. He does have a motorcycle, but that's because his god father left it to him in his will. I proudly associate myself with that kind of boy, Ron is just as good a friend as Harry is." Hermione ranted barely succeeding in not stamping her foot. Melanie looked taken aback. Then she smirked knowledgeably. 

"Does Hermione have a crush?" Hermione made a sound like that of a kettle over a burner. 

"No I do not! Why does everyone think that?" Putting her elbow on the table Melanie matched Hermione's frustrated gaze. Staring at Melanie's eyes Hermione noticed something strange. Melanie had one dark brown eye and one green eye. Melanie blinked. Hermione stared even harder, Melanie had two bright blue eyes again. 

"I don't know why, what about Ron? Do you have feelings for him?" Hermione leaned back in her chair and grinned.

"Hello Tonks." Nymphadora Tonks twirled a strand of her brown hair and took a sip of her coke. 

"What was it that gave me away?" She asked curiously, looking at Melanie's reflection in a mirror that was hanging on the wall conveniently beside her. 

"Melanie has brown eyes." Tonks slapped a hand to her forehead and sighed in frustration.

"I'm going to kill that Dadalous Diggle! I need accurate information! Not a half-smudged freshman photograph! Well did I at least get her character down?" Hermione didn't answer and glanced at the door where Harry had just exited.

"Why?" Millions of questions were buzzing in her head, but that one seemed the most pressing. Why would Dumbledore send Tonks, disguised as Melanie, to take Hermione to Harry? Why did no one tell her what was going on? Tonks, or rather, Melanie's face softened, but before she could answer Harry came bursting in. Grinning widely and slightly out of breath, Harry pointed to the door.

"Melanie, if you hurry, you can catch the great git. He's right outside." Tonks stood up, but Hermione glared at her dangerously. 

"Er… How to put this, Harry I'm on order to direct you and Hermione safely to the Black Manor, on Dumbledore's orders. I can't tell you anything more" To Hermione's surprise Harry didn't seem startled by this sudden change of development. Harry scowled darkly at Tonks.

"Tell Dumbledore I'm fine here, thanks." Hermione wore a shocked expression.

"_Harry._" Hermione exclaimed. Harry ignored her and sat down. Tonks clutched a white leather bag that she had rested on the table and opened it hastily.

"At least read this. It's urgent." She threw an envelope on the table and swiftly left the diner, calling over her shoulder.

"If you change your mind, you know where we are." The envelope on the table was white and nondescript. That didn't keep Harry from eyeing it with intense dislike though. 

"Harry you know we have to go. It could be something important. The Order…" If it was possible Harry scowled even more darkly. This wasn't good. Harry sometimes let his anger have free reign and this was one of those times. 

"The Order… Do you know that they've been following me all summer? I can't even sit on my front steps without one of them lurking in the bushes. I'm sick of it. Sick of it. For once I want to have a normal year." He lapsed into silence. Hermione put her hand over his comfortingly.

"Harry." She said more softly. Harry looked at the ground blankly.

"You're not normal, but don't get too big-headed. None of us are and no matter how bad it gets you can count on Ron and me being here for you. I'll always be here for you, even if it gets really crazy" Harry finally looked up. He studied her as if he just saw her. Then all of the sudden he was nodding.

"Thanks Hermione." Hermione smiled and waved it off good naturedly.

"What are friends for? Harry I really think we should read that letter." He grimaced, but took the letter and put it into his pocket anyway.

"Where do you live Hermione?" He asked, standing up. Hermione hesitated before answering.

"Harry… Don't you think we should go to the Order now?" He shook his head and smiled, making Hermione blow out a little sigh of relief.

"I think we should go to your house first, then we'll go to the Order. I've never been there before, after all." He grabbed Hermione's hand with ease and led her to the door.

"Why are we going to my house?" Harry turned around, his green eyes sparkling, but with a set determined look on his face. Hermione sighed, knowing it was useless to argue with this stubborn Harry that had made himself known the previous year. 

"How are we going to get there?" He didn't answer until he noticed that Hermione was no longer walking and he was dragging her dead weight. Dreading what he knew was coming Harry glanced at Hermione, who's mouth was dropped open.

"We're not taking that…" Hermione was speechless, but managed to get her point across by gesturing in the vague direction of his bike. Not even Harry Potter was getting her on a motorcycle. Despite her father's blood that coursed through her, she was on her mother's side on motorcycles. The best thing was to avoid them. The farther away a motorcycle was the better. Motorcycles were the same as brooms as far as she was concerned. The only difference was that on a motorcycle you only had to fall a couple feet to get seriously damaged. That was not an improvement. Open-mouthed she shook her head firmly. Harry just had an amused expression.

"How else do you expect to get there?" He was seriously insane Hermione concluded. The Rita Skeeter article was true after all. Harry Potter had definitely lost his marbles.

"My house is roughly two hours away. The Black Manor is probably 4 hours away in the opposite direction of my house! You expect us to get there on an ancient motorcycle?" Harry rubbed the back of his neck and looked slightly guilty.

"Well, my motorcycle has some…er…improvements." Hermione had to let herself imagine the improvements a bike that once been owned by Sirius would have. Surely magical, illegal ones. There was also the slight irritation that Hermione was aware that Harry was still holding her hand. Shrugging the feeling off, Hermione looked exasperatedly at Harry's hopeful eyes.

"Do you promise we'll at least read the letter when we get there?" Harry nodded enthusiastically. He seemed almost like his usual self. Almost. Besides, Hermione thought as she followed Harry into the crowded parking lot. There would be plenty of time to have a nice long chat with him. He had escaped saying anything meaningful with the agility of a seeker in the diner, but that would soon change. She couldn't help thinking as she looked at the back of Harry's head; _Harry 1, Hermione 0. For now…_


	2. At the Grangers:Edwardo the Creepo and H...

(A/N) Thanks for the review! I enjoy writing and hopefully this story might run into some plot soon. Such as in Chapter three, *wink*. I hope you enjoy reading Chapter Two!

Chapter Two

The sun glinted off Harry's inheritance, which was an impressive black stallion of a motorcycle. Hermione had to admit that Sirius had taste. Just because Hermione was terrified of riding them doesn't mean she couldn't recognize a good one when she saw one. After all, her father wasn't obsessed with motorcycles for nothing. Some knowledge about motorcycles had to rub off on her. So when Hermione saw Harry's new bike she knew it was a good one. A very good one in fact. The bike was nearly perfect in every way. Hermione could practically see her father drooling over it. It was eerily similar to Harry's firebolt, which was nonsense, but she couldn't help feeling that that was the reason Harry was so eager to ride it. He held his arms out proudly.

"So, what do you think?" Apprehension caused Hermione to stand no less than six feet from the bike. 

"You mentioned extra features earlier, what were they exactly?" Harry's face turned mischievous, looking for a moment like a young Sirius as he did so.

"It wouldn't be fun to tell you everything, but I can say that the motorcycle can really _move_." Seeing the look on Hermione's face, that was a clear indicator that she didn't think that the motorcycle's speed was a good thing, Harry hastily added, "And its extremely safe. Even a bloke who never had a riding lesson in his life could ride this thing and survive it." Hermione's stomach did a dangerous dive to the floor. She wondered uneasily how many times Harry had ridden the bike before this. Then she stopped thinking, as she had no other way of getting home. Besides there was a chance that if she agreed to go through with this Harry would later confide in her. That was if they managed the ride to her house of course. And that was if they survived her parents after. She had the feeling that they wouldn't appreciate seeing their daughter on the back of a motorcycle with a boy they had barely met. 

Harry took Hermione's silence as an opportunity to get going before she lost her nerves or before he cracked under her watching eyes. He lifted the seat that was toward the back of the bike to reveal a hidden compartment that must have had an expansion charm because he lifted out of it two black helmets that could not have possibly fit otherwise. 

"Harry will the motorcycle get you in trouble with the Ministry, it being an enchanted muggle artifact?" Hermione said, her voice laced with something close to panic. 

"Of course not Hermione, that's what makes it so great. No muggle could possibly get into trouble with this. If anyone tries to use it who I didn't give permission to they'll just find themselves riding an old broom stick, one that doesn't fly. No person at the Ministry of Magic will assume that it's a enchanted muggle artifact either, because I have a license for it." He patted his bike lovingly. Hermione was sure that what Harry had mentioned wasn't even a sixteenth of what the bike could do, but she preferred not to think about it, as she was sure they were illegal, but useful modifications. She had already noticed that the handles had many silver knobs and small buttons that she was sure weren't there on regular bikes. Muttering darkly words that would've caused her mother to ground her for a week and Harry to chuckle, Hermione somehow found herself and Harry on the bike and on their way to 37 Yorkshire Drive.

The ride wasn't as bad as Hermione thought it was going to be. It was utterly terrifying, but at least it wasn't as bad as her ride on Buckbeak in her third year. That was one of the most frightening things she had done in her life and that was including the Department of Mysteries. The bucking and swaying of Buckbeak's flight had strengthened Hermione's resolve never to ride a broomstick if she could help it. The ride on Sirius or rather Harry's bike was better, only because she at least was firmly seated and she didn't feel like she was going to fall at any second. Nevertheless she was frightened enough to entwine her arms tightly around Harry's waist. When Harry felt her death grip he whispered hoarsely that she was strangling him. Hermione was so surprised that she could hear him with her helmet on she almost fell off. 

"Harry, don't ever do that again. Next time tell me the modifications you're going to use" She threatened through gritted teeth. She held on even tighter, despite Harry's complaints. Harry was sympathetic for Hermione's fear of falling off and he went about 50 mph for the majority of the ride, but he couldn't help going fast when their was a long stretch of empty road. He would go just over 100mph before noticing Hermione's shrieks in his ears. Going that fast gave him a wild excitement, a rush. He loved the feeling. Hermione was shocked to see that she enjoyed going fast. That is, until she remembered the road that was zooming past underneath them and she was back to being terrified. If only she could get over her age old fear of falling.

When they were about fifteen minutes to her house, Hermione began dreading what her parents would think. Her father would slobber over the bike for about ten seconds before he would start shouting at her about being on the back of a bike with a boy he barely knew. Her mother on the other hand would hit the ground running. Not only would she yell about Hermione leaving the diner with Harry, she would yell about the bike too. Needless to say she was surprised when her parents didn't appear running out of the house when they parked in her driveway.

Harry gazed at his surroundings with interest. Even though he had been friends with Hermione for five years he had never been to her house. When he noticed the expression on Hermione's face he wondered if there was a reason that Ron and he had never been invited to her house. He shrugged it off, he had met her parents and they had seemed like a decent pair. Then again he hadn't really talked to them. He shook his head in an effort to rid himself of those thoughts. He hadn't thought about why he had never been invited to Hermione's house before, there had always been an invitation to the Weasley's or something else came up. For instance, last year he had ended up at Grimmauld Place. He inwardly shrugged.

Hermione was appreciating standing on solid ground and she couldn't help grinning at her home. It was a Victorian, which was uncommon in that part of London. There was usually rows and rows of small identical houses that made Hermione grimace when she saw them. Her house was a cheery white with green window shutters. There was a small porch in the front with a large swing tucked in the corner. On particularly warm days, Hermione usually curled up on it with Crookshanks and read. There was a small balcony that was connected to her parents room. Hermione hadn't been up there since she was three years old. Her cousin Natasha, Hermione had many cousins as her dad had quite a lot of siblings, had held her up to see the view when her grip slipped and Hermione fell. Thankfully Hermione had begun to reveal her powers by then because she had floated down to the ground like a feather, to the shock and relief of her parents, but even now Hermione was absolutely terrified about flying no matter what she did to try and cure her fear. Her father, in his spare time, loved to landscape and as soon as he had purchased the house he was planting trees and planning how the yard would look. One of the other things he did was build a high white wicket fence to separate their property from their neighbors. He claimed this was for privacy, but Hermione knew it was to discourage the unbelievably unlikable people that lived next to them, the Pinsnips. Her mother, for once, shared his enthusiasm and she planned and was in charge of the flower beds. Through their combined efforts the yard turned out to be a miniature Garden of Eden. 

They made their way to the front door on the stepping stone pathway. If her father could he would have posted a sign that demanded that no one step on the grass without the threat of their lives. Reaching the steps Hermione turned around to take one last look of her yard.

"So what do you think of my parents masterpiece? I know its no Burrow and probably less inte" Harry stopped her with his hand on her shoulder as he stared awestruck at the garden.

"It's unbelievable." Hermione smiled proudly. Her smile faded as they both heard a silky voice that was coming from the direction of the fence. Hermione groaned softly, so that only Harry could hear her, put on a fake smile and gazed at the boy she knew would be there, Edward Pinsnips. He was a thin, pale boy that reminded Hermione of Malfoy, but with a couple of major differences. One, the boy had dark brown hair. Two, he had dark blue eyes and three, he had a huge crush on Hermione. Ever since she and her parents had moved there he was always there trying to become her boyfriend. Hermione had rejected his offers for as just as long. He disgusted her with his cruel behavior to people who were different, so of course if he found out she was a witch he would hate her as well. He also annoyed her with his clinginess. Edward was the main reason Hermione never had any friends over, especially if they were boys. They would play with her at school just find, but if she ever brought a friend over Edward would scare them away. For example, when she was eight her friend Charlie had visited her and had gone home with a bloody nose, a burn and a bruise that shadowed his left eye. When Hermione had questioned Charlie about he had gotten his injuries he explained that while they were playing hide and seek he had tripped and that he couldn't be her friend anymore, sorry. She immediately found out that Edward was behind it all and when she was more careful playing with her friends, not venturing near Edward's house so he could do them no injury, Edward blackmailed them into avoiding Hermione. So Hermione couldn't help but resenting Edward for her lonely childhood.

"Hermie, your parents are out. Who's your little friend?" Edward's soft voice easily carried across the yard.

Edward was causally sitting on a branch of a tree that grew on his yard, but drooped over Hermione's. That was his usual roosting spot. It was creepy how he could just appear like that. Edward gazed at Harry with cold dislike. He gaped for a moment when he saw Harry's bike, but that was quickly changed to a sneaky smirk. Hermione dropped all pretense of being polite and glared at him.

"This is Harry, Edward, and if you touch Harry's bike that's your problem. I'll just feel really sorry for what happens to you. Wait, scratch that. I won't feel sorry. Where are my parents?" Hermione said. Harry stared at her in amazement. Hermione wasn't half this angry at Malfoy. Edward must be even worse than Malfoy and until then Harry thought that was impossible. Harry looked at Edward with mounting dislike. 

"_Harry,_ what kind of name is that?" Edward snarled. Hermione looked at Harry uneasily as if fearing that he would explode.

"Edward, do you always butt into other people's business or is this a recent development? And I believe Mione asked you a question." Harry had just met Edward and already he felt that he deserved slow and painful Chinese water torture. Hermione smiled and was pleased to see Edward's stunned expression. No one who knew better, besides Hermione, dared stand up to him, not even the people that towered over Edward, who was rather short. Edward was already jealous of Harry. He had tried for nearly 14 unsuccessful years for Hermione to accept Hermie as her nickname he had failed on all counts. Now some fresh boy from her school shows up and calls her Mione and Hermione didn't seem to mind at all. She was actually smiling. Hermione could see the wheels turn in Edwards slimly little head and she watched as he regained his composure.

"They went to pick up your brother at the airport Hermie." Edward's voice no longer sounded silky, it sounded like a sharp bark from a small dog. Hermione pulled out her house keys and unlocked the door before she went in she heard Edward again.

"Now now Hermie I wouldn't do that if I were you," Edward shook his finger at them. Hermione heard a soft grunt of annoyance from Harry.

"And why pray tell not?" Hermione's hands went to her hips. One of these days she was going to go over to that branch and she was going to slap Edward so hard that he'll fall off.

"What will your parents think when they walk in and see you _entertaining _your guest?" Her face turned red with anger and the keys jingled in her hand as she shook with rage. She pointed at Edward shakily.

"Harry already met my family and they know that he's just a friend. How dare you say such a thing you disgusting, slimy, despicable prat!" With that Hermione stormed in. Harry noticed that Edward chanced a glance at Harry's motorcycle.

"If you decide to slither down from there and ruin my bike I should warn you, my bike is temperamental. It doesn't handle well under slime balls like you." Making sure neither Hermione nor Edward could hear him he whispered something, then he followed Hermione into the house and shut the door. 

Hermione knew that Edward was mean, cruel, and heartless among other bad things, but she could not believe what he had just said. It had sounded innocent enough, but it had a vicious double meaning. She walked to the kitchen sink and washed her face, trying to cool down. Usually she kept her temper when Edward made mean comments like that. The day was so hot and she had just survived a ride on a motorcycle so she had the right to be short tempered. It was bad enough that Rita Skeeter along with most of the wizarding world and Tonks thought that she and Harry were more than friends, but when a muggle that had lived next door to her for most of her life said that, that was another matter entirely. No matter how cruel and stupid Edward was it still was disturbing that he thought something was going on between Harry and her. Like she thought earlier, she was just sick of the rumors when there was nothing behind any of them. _Entertaining_, Hermione thought bitterly, blushing slightly. 

"Hey, are you alright Hermione?" Asked Harry worriedly. Hermione spun around feeling strangely disoriented. It was weird seeing someone from the wizarding world standing in her kitchen. 

"Yeah, Edward's just a prat." She scrunched up her nose in distaste. Harry looked out the window to see if he was still there. He was. He let the yellow curtain fall.

"Why didn't you tell us that you have to come back to that git every summer?" Hermione sniffed.

"Would you tell people that you live next to some one like him and oh yeah, the reason they can't come over is the git over there will find every way to make their life a living… Well you got the idea." Straightening Hermione gazed pointedly at the pocket that Harry had stuffed the letter into. Harry always loved the art of procrastination. 

"Aren't you going to give me a tour of the house?" Hermione's eyes flared, but Harry thought he saw the sides of her lips twist into a small smile. 

"You know, some people would have thought that was rude Harry." She humored him and led him through the house. The kitchen, the large living room with a huge fireplace and overstuffed chairs. The dining room with the glass chandelier. Hermione told him that when she was six and she was trying to get out of going to bed early she had found herself sitting quite comfortably on that very chandelier. They halted at the library and Harry whistled in appreciation.

"Hermione… Do your parents like reading too?" Harry couldn't imagine how all of the shelves stuffed with books could belong to one person. The library caused Hermione to relax, like she always relaxed in that room. She practically lived in the library, all of the books in it were dear familiar friends of hers.

"My dad spends all of his time obsessing over motorcycles, so he doesn't have time to read. My mom though, she loves to read, but most of these books aren't hers. She keeps the majority of hers in her and dad's room. Most of these…" She waved her hand at the wall to wall bookcases.

"…are mine." Harry stared at her blankly for a second and then started laughing.

"Hermione, when do you have the time to read all of these? You don't have another time turner now do you?" He gasped clutching his stomach from laughing too hard. Hermione was tempted to stamp her foot in frustration. Her life wasn't all reading. She had skied, well at least she tried to. She had been to France and she had nearly went to Bulgaria a year ago. 

"For your information Potter," Harry winced, that was what Malfoy normally called him. "For the past couple weeks I haven't touched a book at all." With that she walked out of the room, leaving Harry to follow her in bewilderment.

"Hermione Granger not reading for more than a week? I think I'll eat my shoe." Harry had actually began pulling one of his trainers off before Hermione broke out into a laugh and stopped him.

"I've been trying to get into shape. Especially focusing on building up my stamina, maybe I'll be more useful next time." Harry sobered, comprehension etched into his face. 

"Hermione, you don't have to do that. Who says there will be a next time anyway? Maybe Voldemort has finally given up." Hermione could easily see that Harry believed in what he was saying as much as she did. 

"Harry, with Voldemort there's always a next time." Hermione sighed, suddenly feeling tired. 

"Hermione there's the Order, they'll take care of things." Harry sounded just as weary. He was as tired of facing Voldemort as much as she was, more even.

"Harry friends stick together and if you are going to end up in the thick of things, so am I. Anyways, better to be safe than sorry." Knowing that Harry was about to protest, Hermione talked first.

"Come one, I'll show you the upstairs. That is unless you want to open the letter Tonks gave you." Hermione hoped to catch Harry off guard, on the off-chance that he might say yes. To her dissapointment he shook his head stubbornly. That was okay with Hermione she could be just as stubborn.

"Alright lets go," Two things happened at once. Hermione heard her parents drive up bearing her eldest brother, Todd and a shriek echoed in the street. Harry, who knew who that shriek belonged to grinned feeling a little guilty, but only a little. Fortunately for Harry, Hermione didn't know what was going on and she rushed outside Harry was at her side pretending to be surprised as they saw the scene that was taking place before them.

Hermione's parents had pulled up in their green mini van. They had gotten out and were in the process of unloading luggage from the trunk. Todd, who was returning from Harvard to spend his break with his family, was helping them. Neither of them had noticed Harry and Hermione halt beside them because all of them were staring transfixed at the street. Hermione should have known what had happened when she had finally registered that Harry's bike was no longer neatly parked in her driveway, but it was hard thinking when a voice that was magnified one hundred times was bawling and pleading like a baby. The voice belonged to Edward and Edward was riding Harry's bike up and down the street. Something was wrong though. Surely Edward did not mean to drive a motorcycle with his pants pulled over his head. He couldn't see. And surely he did not mean to drive backwards and then stop jerkily only to speed forwards and start the process over again. And then there was the fact that Edward was bawling like a baby so loudly that everyone clearly heard him.

"Stoooooooooppppppp!! Someone helllllllpppp meeeeeee! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" It was only when the motorcycle started trying to throw Edward off like a horse would, bouncing back on forth from the front tire to the rear one, that Hermione's father finally said something.

"Where in the heck did Edward get that bike?" Harry studied his shoes carefully. No one had noticed him yet.

"Someone really should help him." Hermione's mother said quietly. Everyone murmured agreement, but no one moved. They looked like they were trying to capture the moment forever in their minds. 

"I'll help him." Relented Todd. Harry didn't want to, but he called attention to himself.

"It's my bike, I should." Both of Hermione's parents and Todd turned to stare at him. Hermione sensed that they were trying to figure out if they were supposed to know him. It would be amusing to see her dad and her mom interrogate Harry, but Hermione rushed into save him. 

"Mom, dad, Todd, this is Harry Potter. One of my friends from Hogwarts." Todd's face was one of disbelief. Her parents looked slightly less menacing than they would have if they hadn't met Harry before, but only slightly. Harry felt uncomfortable and felt like a spotlight was shining directly on him.

"You're one of Hermione's friends from that school?" Todd spluttered. Harry nodded. Todd looked to his parents for an explanation. Mrs. Granger enveloped Harry in a brief hug and Mr. Granger held out his hand for Harry to shake. 

"Hi Harry. We're surprised to see you here. Weren't you two supposed to be at a diner in Little Whinging?" Mrs. Granger said. Todd held his arms out with an expression of complete confusion.

"So you mean to tell me that you guys are okay with a 16 or something year old guy that goes to her boarding school, which you two are not present at, being friends with your young impressionable daughter?" Hermione frowned indignantly. Todd had always been protective of her, but this was going too far. Harry had saved her life too many times to count and here Todd was accusing Harry of being a bad influence. She certainly broke more rules than she would've if she wasn't Harry's friend, but that was only in cases when breaking a few rules meant saving the school.

"Harry is not making a bad impression on me." Hermione argued heatedly. Mr. Granger then remembered what Harry had said.

"That's your motorcycle?" He pointed at the motorcycle that Edward was still clinging to. It was hopping on the back tire around and around in a circle. 

"Yeah." Harry answered cautiously. Mr. Granger's eyes widened for a moment. Mrs. Granger nudged him lightly with her elbow.

"Could you please get it to stop and then show it to me?" Hermione's mother stomped on his foot and hissed, "_Timothy._"

"Ouch, I mean, can you please let that poor boy off?" Harry tried not to smirk as he made his way to the hopping motorcycle. He was strongly reminded of Mr. And Mrs. Weasley.

As Hermione watched, Harry walked up to the motorcycle and said something that she couldn't hear. The motorcycle landed with a crash and Edward toppled from the seat, whimpering. Harry helped him up, but not before he gave him some advice.

"Next time wear a helmet." Edward scrambled away and ran as fast as he could to his house. He only looked back when he was at his steps, his face a mix of fear and hate, then he flung open his door and let it slam shut behind him. Harry rolled his bike slowly up the driveway, stopping when he was in front of Mr. Gramger. Mr. Granger gazed at the bike with longing, but with his wife standing right beside him he didn't dare do anything. Something just dawned on Hermione.

"Mom," She said hesitantly, "Did Dumbledore arrange the meeting at the diner?" Mrs. Granger looked flustered.

"Yes. You were supposed to go from there to the Black Manor with Harry, they figured that if you two went together there would be less of a chance of danger."

"Danger, Hermione's in danger?" Todd intervened. He knew that Hermione was a witch and that she'd been attending a school to learn magic for the past five years, but that was about all he knew. He didn't know about the danger Harry, Hermione and Ron had faced. Hermione's parents were more aware that there was danger present, but Hermione couldn't bring herself to tell them any of the details or the close calls. 

It was bad enough convincing them that most of what the Daily Prophet described was fabricated. Her parents received the Daily Prophet because of their insistence that they should know what was occurring in their daughter's world. They were worried when they had read about how rebellious and crazy Harry was supposed to be. Hermione had written ten rolls of parchment to them explaining that Harry was not crazy. She had even gone as far as giving them supporting facts with lots of detail. Hermione was afraid that Harry would get angry if he saw that her muggle parents needed to be convinced that he was sane. When Ron had asked her who she was writing to Hermione fed him some nonsense about writing to Vicktor Krum, like she would be writing to him. After she had told him that she didn't want to spend the summer holidays with him he had acted childishly and refused to speak to her. If Hermione told her parents what really had happened to her, there was no way they were going to let her still attend Hogwarts. 

"No I'm not in any danger!" Hermione snapped. Todd looked at her as if she was stupid. Harry had wisely decided before this to remain in the background.

"Your headmaster seems to think so." Todd retorted.

"Its only a precaution." Harry, to his horror, heard himself saying. Todd shot a nasty look at him.

"If I didn't know that Hermione is bloody terrified of motorcycles I would've thought that she rode on the back of yours all the way here from Little Whinging." Harry took the hint and kept his mouth shut. Mr. and Mrs. Granger watched this interchange with bemused expressions on their faces. Now that everyone had paused for air Mrs. Granger took over.

"Lets continue this conversation inside. Todd, Harry, Hermione if you could be so kind as to help us move the luggage inside." They complied hastily. When all of the luggage was haphazardly stacked in the hallway and Mrs. Granger had made a cup of Earl Gray Tea for everyone, they settled in the living room. Mr. Granger cleared his throat conversationally while Mrs. Granger was taking a long drink of her tea.

"Harry, what model is your motorcycle? I've never seen one like it." Harry grinned, glad for this opening.

"I'm not quite sure, my godfather said it was a black stallion, but I don't think he was being serious." Mr. Granger was sitting on the edge of his seat in his excitement.

"Really? That sounds familiar. Maybe we could see if it's in one of my magazines later." Harry accepted readily, not knowing it was a trap. Hermione had recognized that her father was genuinely interested in Harry's motorcycle, but he also was genuinely interested in threatening Harry. As soon as Hermione finished her tea, burning her tongue in her eagerness to escape, she stood up.

"Well, I still have to show Harry the upstairs and we have to talk so…" She pulled Harry out of his seat, he had a slightly alarmed expression on his face. Hermione led Harry upstairs to her room. Todd appeared shortly after and he stopped at Hermione's doorway.

"This door stays open and I will be right next door." Todd said carefully, while looking at Harry menacingly. Todd finally stalked away.

Harry was surprised to find that Hermione's room wasn't intimidating at all. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it wasn't the room that surrounded him. There was of course a book case, but it was small and was only filled with schoolbooks. There also was a large bay window and it had a window seat next to it. It wasn't hard to imagine Hermione lounging on the seat and reading or gazing out the window to stare at the night sky. Near the window there was a large desk with a school book left lying open, with a neat stack of completed papers beside it. One of the walls was completely covered with shelves. Harry could identify a boom box, a pile of taebo tapes that surprised him until he remembered that she said she was getting into shape and a TV from where he was seated. He was seated next to Hermione on her bed. It was a normal queen-sized bed with a blue comforter covering it. Crookshanks, who had been dozing off underneath the bed, had leapt up and was now purring contentedly in Harry's lap. 

Hermione shook her head. Crookshanks had always liked Harry, but now he was behaving as he had with Sirius. Maybe the large feline had sensed Sirius's demise and was now seeking a new 'dad.' Cats always seemed to have a sixth sense, another perfect example was Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, who somehow alerted Filch of troublemakers. Sometimes Hermione wondered if Crookshanks only liked her because she was the one who put cat food in his bowl every morning.

"My family is nuts." Hermione said loudly so that Todd could hear her if he was listening. Harry said nothing for a moment and stroked Crookshanks.

"Sometimes that can be a good thing. They're really nice, unlike my insane relatives." Hermione blushed she had forgotten for a minute about the Dursleys. She thought about the rude blonde haired boy that was at the diner and shuddered.

"I thought you said that the bike would turn into a broomstick if a muggle tried to sit on it! You didn't perform any magic did you Harry?" Harry scratched Crookshank behind the ears and Crookshanks purred louder with delight. 

"That was one of the 'features' Sirius added, you just have to say 'Please give any slime balls a bumpy ride' and anyone who tries to ride it… You saw what happened to that creep Edward. So no Hermione, I didn't use magic. I was being a good boy." Hermione shrank back at this, feeling furious with herself. This was the problem that occurred last year, everyone had treated him like a little boy that couldn't think for himself and they had ended up at the Department of Mysteries.

"I'm really sorry. Last year was hell, I should've tried harder. I was completely useless the whole time. I should've bugged you more about your Occulemcy lessons. I should've realized that it was all a trap. Sirius might still be alive if I was more of a help." To Hermione's annoyance, tears were trickling down her cheeks. Remembering that Harry couldn't handle girls crying she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. Harry looked stricken. He didn't know that other people blamed themselves for Sirius's death besides Dumbledore. Surprising himself, Harry hugged Hermione, rubbing her back in slow soothing motions. Crookshanks yelped out of Harry's lap and onto the floor, spitting. This wasn't like Cho crying at all. Hermione hardly ever cried and Harry actually understood why Hermione was crying now. 

"Hermione it isn't your fault that a death eater stunned him, you didn't push him into the veil. In fact, if I had listened to you Sirius would still be alive." His voice didn't sound like his, it was strained and cracked with emotion. Hermione pulled out of his arms.

"It isn't your fault either Harry! You went to the Department of Mysteries because you cared about Sirius. You were trying to save him. Voldemort played a dirty trick Harry and that isn't your fault! Harry we're not going anywhere, not even to the Black Manor, until you believe that Sirius's death isn't your fault." Hermione poked Harry so hard in her frustration, that he almost fell off the bed in surprise. When he righted himself, he glanced behind Hermione and eyed the door wistfully. If only he could run from the room, or if only he could seek sanctuary underneath the beneath the bed like Crookshanks had wisely done. He didn't feel ready to talk about what had happened. A sharp pain pierced his gut every time he thought about Sirius. The only thing was, despite Hermione's tear streaked, flushed face and her red, puffy eyes, she was glowing with fierce determination. Harry swallowed dryly.

"Hermione I'm sorry, but I can't." Hermione's eyes welled up with unshed tears, but she did not cry. 

"Why?" Hermione put her face into her hands. She gazed back at Harry suddenly feeling ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't force you to talk or to believe something you don't, but listen. I can't shake this feeling that you need to talk to someone soon. It doesn't have to be me, it could be anyone, Ron, Professor Lupin. As long as you talk soon. Emotions aren't meant to be kept bottled up inside of you Harry, sooner or later it will cause a catastrophic explosion that no one needs right now. I know that you think you are the cause of Sirius's death, but that just isn't true Harry. You just said that I shouldn't blame myself for his death, so why should you? I'm sorry." With that Hermione backed out completely from Harry's arms and sat on the window seat. She had recognized the grateful look in Harry's emerald eyes and she could not help from feeling disappointed. She had been wishing that Harry would choose her to confide in. Now that she thought about it, she should have expected Harry to trust Ron more than he trusted her. After all, if it wasn't for that stupid troll in first year Harry or Ron wouldn't look at her twice. Part of her was screaming that she was dumb for thinking that, but the other larger part believed that it was true. Sniffing, Hermione drove back her tears forcefully. Harry probably already was considering her as unhappy and as whiny as Cho had been. Lately, Hermione had been feeling depressed, everyone had since the death of Sirius. To her surprise Harry sat next to her. He turned her chin so they were facing each other. 

"I've been really stupid lately Hermione. I've certainly made a lot of stupid mistakes and I still believe that I was at least partially responsible for Sirius's death, but I'm not about to make another stupid mistake. Hermione, you and Ron are my best friends, you especially stuck by me no matter what and I am not going to forget that. When I feel ready to discuss this I'll go to you and Ron first." Harry said. His eyes were watery as well. Hermione turned her head toward the side, so that Harry's hand dropped in his lap.

"You don't have to do that. If you don't want to tell me that's okay. I knew that you'd rather want to talk to Ron anyway." She mumbled, staring at the blue carpeted floor. Harry's voice, because it sounded so shocked and more than a little angry, caused Hermione to peer back at Harry's face.

"Why do you think that?" He asked, his voice getting slightly louder. Hermione laughed bitterly. Her throat was really starting to hurt now. She knew she should stop herself from saying what she was going to say next, but it was pointless. Once you start a train wreck, it's very hard to stop it.

"Would you honestly have been my friend if the mountain troll hadn't attacked me in our first year? Everyone just thought I was a bossy know-it-all." She hugged her knees to her chest and placed her chin on them. 

"Hermione who knows what could have happened? If Ron and I were given a chance to get to know you I'm sure that we would still be friends. I know that I would have. You're smart, caring, fun when you want to be, loyal…" Hermione cocked her head and blushed. 

"Thanks for that Harry. I would have ended up being friends with you and Ron anyway. How could I not?" The sincerity in her voice surprised Hermione, but it felt right. Ron was funny and unpredictable, he always brightened up her day. Harry was another thing entirely. It was hard to interpret her feelings that she had for Harry. Out of habit Hermione made a movement as if to hug him, but she stopped herself. Boys were always uncomfortable when girls hugged them, especially when the girls happened to be there friends. Harry leaned forward and hugged Hermione tightly.

"Thanks for this." He kissed her cheek and let go of her. She was stunned. An electric shock had coursed through her. Mostly it was from surprise, she had kissed Harry's and Ron's cheek upon occasion, but they never returned the favor. The other smaller part was a confusing web of emotions, emotions that she quickly ignored. Thankfully Hermione did not have enough time to dwell on it because she saw the corner of a white envelope from Harry's front pocket. 

"What the heck?!" Todd strode into the room. His face was bright red from anger. His eyes flicked from Hermione's tear stained face to Harry's panicked one that was close to Hermione's. By Todd's counts he was too near, way too near. 

"Hermione did he do anything to you? Did he touch you?" Before Hermione got a chance to answer Todd faced Harry.

"You… If you touched my sister I'll kill you!" Harry didn't speak, but he stared defiantly into Todd's eyes. This had gone too far. Hermione stood up, pushing Todd back, which was difficult to do as he was almost a full foot taller than her. 

"He didn't do anything Todd! We were just talking! I'm crying from laughter, alright? These are tears of happiness! We were talking about the how funny Edward looked. Get out please." With that Hermione managed to slam the door in Todd's face. She took a deep breath and sat back down next to Harry. Todd opened the door again stubbornly.

"The door stays open." Hermione shook her head in embarrassment. Todd was way too protective of her. When she was nine years old a bunch of bullies had followed her home. Pulling her hair and taunting at her until she reached her front lawn. That was when Todd came running out at full steam. He chased the four teenagers down the street, cursing and shouting threats. Hermione wasn't bothered after that.

Ron would have a field day if he had seen what had happened. People thought Todd being overprotective was hilarious, amusing, sweet even. They usually came off sounding like Snaggle Puss. Actually, now that Hermione thought about it Ron and Todd would get along nicely. They at least shared one attribute, both were too protective of their sisters and both were not aware of it. Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by what suspiciously sounded like a snort of laughter in Harry's direction. She glared at Harry in disbelief.

"Todd's nice. Very welcoming, quite charming really." Hermione laughed, normally to Harry's relief. 

"If you're not ready to talk, can we at least read the letter Tonks gave you?" Harry nodded slowly and very reluctantly, he had a feeling that he knew what was in the letter. It wasn't something he wanted to face. Achingly slowly, Harry withdrew the crumpled envelope from his pocket. Suddenly, a loud pop echoed throughout the room. Someone had apparated next to Hermione's bed.


End file.
